In vehicle design, particularly for sport utility vehicles or vans, it is common to equip the vehicle with second or third row seats that can be moved from a use position to a stow position in order to provide increased storage capacity. In such seat assemblies, the fold-down seatback is pivotally mounted at its lower end to the seat bottom for rotation between the use position, which may be an upright position, and the stow position, which typically involves the seatback folding to a position approximately parallel to the seat bottom. The movement of the seat assembly to the stow position effectively creates more storage space and also makes it easier to access other areas of the vehicle such as the rear storage or trunk area.
In addition to the increased popularity of second or third row seats that can be more easily stowed, it is becoming increasingly popular to equip such seats with headrests. Although a headrest improves occupant comfort, it is often inconvenient when moving the seat assembly to a stow position. The seat operator is required to first return the headrest to a stow position, i.e., placing the bottom of the headrest in approximate contact with the top of the seatback, before folding the seatback to its stow position. If the seat operator fails to move the headrest to the stow position, the headrest may be out of position and impede movement of the seatback to the stow position. Further, an unstowed headrest may occupy additional vehicle space, in turn reducing vehicle storage capacity. Consequently, requiring operator diligence to move the headrest separately from the seatback each time the operator moves the seat from its use to its stow position is inconvenient, and operator failure to move the headrest may impact storage capacity and impede seatback storage.